I am thinking every company has a little bit different twist on what they expect from job applicants. After you send your cover letter / resume, what next?
Should you follow up a couple days later with another e-mail?
Should you call them?
Should you show up in person at their office?
Or just wait for their reply?
If I knew, I’d have a job.
Of the suggestions listed, “show up in person” is probably the worst.
It’s a good idea to send a note (letter or email) within a few days to the people you met in the interview to: (1) thank them for their time and input; (2) offer to provide any additional information about yourself; (3) express your continuing interest in the job. It can’t hurt your chances (assuming that you can write a coherent note). If you don’t get any response in a week or two, go ahead and make a phone call.
Did you send a cold resume or did you respond to a job ad?
Either way I think that you should contact them in a few days. It can’t hurt. I have never seen anyone not get hired because they called to ask about the job. The people who call are the people who get noticed and getting noticed is good if there are a lot of people applying.
Good Luck!
I think in general, that is probably true. But I was applying for openings at the local university and getting no replies at all. So I visited the office there where they hire tudors and such. The lady in charge there said I would have a much better chance of being hired if I visited their employment office in person.
[QUOTE=nivlac]
It’s a good idea to send a note (letter or email) within a few days to the people you met in the interview (snip) QUOTE]
An interview? What’s that? (Sorry, being a bit sarcastic here.) I’m talking about getting ANYTHING back from them, hell at this point I would consider a reject letter as a positive response.
The thing that’s grinding my gears right now is this: The job I just applied for is less than 5 miles from where I live and the help wanted ad list of requirements basically looked like a copy of my resume. The requirements are very specific too, not just “we need a VB programmer”, it has more to do with detailed experience in a certain industry. To apply for this position and not even get an interview is beyond ridiculous.
You have no idea how many resumes they received. They could have a dozen of them that perfectly match the job description.
If you really want the job call them. Faint heart never won fair maiden. Or got the perfect job.
Tons of people have several years of experience writing network interfaces to credit card authorization institutions? I kind of doubt it, but you never know.
I’m going to give them a call later this week though, sounds like the thing to do. Thanks.
I should try that! I always wanted a job as Henry VIII.
You would be surprized. How many other people got laid off when you did? Was the lay-off due to weakness in your company or weakness in the industry?
I got a scary look at the job market when I started interviewing people after my last transfer. Basically discovered that if I hadn’t a) already been hired by the company in another division and b) there had been a hiring freeze going on and c) had the support of the section manager, I never would have gotten an interview for my current position. We got 30 resumes from people with 15+ years experience in the exact industry we’re in, simply because all of our competitors are cutting their R&D budgets.
-lv
Yeah, I think I’m still living in the 90’s where my 20 years of experience means something. Very true though, the software industry has been devastated. I’m almost ready to say to hell with it and try something different.
Ooops, I meant tooter, I was applying for the band. 
cc - after your help over in Cafe Society, I wanted to be sure and pipe in with my “tooter” application thoughts. (ouch - sorry, won’t happen again)
Anyway, yes, at this point you should be persistent, but no, at this point, you should not show up in person. You need to:
a) call and gently, nicely, persistently talk to receptionists and folks until to you identify the right person or department who should be reviewing your resume and potentially interviewing you. If people are not helpful, try stuff like “given my background, it sounds like I am uniquely able to help you guys out - so I want to make sure I am talking to the person on point, who sees that on my resume” or some such.
b) if the you either reach the person, or maybe even better, reach someone who sounds like they know exactly who the right person is and are about to refer you to them, then - ask them for advice. “Wow, so Steve is the right person? Great - and what is his contact info and email? Cool - thanks. And if I want to show him that I am a great fit and really, really interested in the position, how should I do that - d’you think I should give him a call, send him an email or show up? If I should show up, about what time of day would be best?” etc…
Most people like being asked for their expertise - make sure you sound enthusiastic and appreciative - it will get you places you couldn’t get otherwise.
Best of luck!
Thanks, I’m going to give them a call tomorrow.
I have found this to be a good interviewing trick too. The interviewer will ask something like, “Do you have any questions?”. I always try to ask, “What do you do here?”. People just love talking about themselves. 
I think the protocol very much depends on the size of the company.
If you are applying at a very small business, especially a family run business, then it might work best to find out who will do the actual hiring and then walk in with resume in hand and ask to speak to them. I’ve done this and gotten jobs at two different photo shops (and neither had advertised an opening). I currently work at a different small business that advertised for a position. The morning it was advertised, a guy came in wearing a suit with resumes in his hand and asked to speak to the owner. The owner was anxious to fill the position as soon as possible, (and he likes ambitious, motivated people), so this guy got the job.
If you’re applying at a larger business (one that has a human resources person or department), then the above strategy won’t work at all. You’ll have to play their game according to their very structured procedures.
Either way, I think nivlac gave good advice:
and I would recommend hand-addressing the envelope and note (unless your penmanship looks like a third-grader). I heard a human resources person being interview on the radio once, and he said that a hand-written envelope gets his attention first. A written note makes you stand out from everyone else who cranks out notes on their word processors.
I think the showing up in person bit depends a lot on the type of business. It’s a definite no in businesses that aren’t open to the public, so the HR Rep might feel you’re trying to corner her and coerce an interview or offer.
But in retail, restaurant, temp agency, possibly even some university jobs where the general public is in and out all day, showing up in person can be good, even expected.
Another point is to honestly evaluate whether you make a good first impression in person. If you do, and the job is at a site open to the public, it may help to make yourself known. Dress for the occasion and bring a resume or neatly completed application in a portfolio. Or pick up a blank application and put it in the portfolio. For entry level jobs, just showing you can dress appropriately for the environment and make it to the work location can be a plus over other applicants.
If you do show up in person, never be pushy. That is the absolute worst.